I. ˈsīprə̇s noun
( -es )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: Middle English cipres, cypress, from Old French ciprès, cyprès, from Latin cyparissus, from Greek kyparissos, from the non-Indo-European source of Latin cupressus cypress
1. : a tree of the genus Cupressus
2. : branches or sprigs of cypress used as a symbol of mourning
let the king dismiss his woes … and take the cypress from his brows — Matthew Prior
3. : any of several coniferous trees related to cypress: as
a. : port orford cedar
b. : yellow cedar
c. : bald cypress
d. : a Central-American timber tree ( Podocarpus coriacea ) that produces a fine-grained gray wood
e. North : jack pine 1
4. : the wood of cypress
5. : any of various chiefly herbaceous plants that are not conifers but have flat scaly foliage like that of members of the genus Cupressus
6. or cypress green : a moderate olive green that is greener and duller than forest green (sense 2), greener, darker, and slightly less strong than Lincoln green, and greener and duller than holly green (sense 2)
II. noun
also cy·prus -rəs
( -es )
Etymology: Middle English cipres, cyprus, from Cyprus, island in the Mediterranean
1. : any of various rich fabrics imported from or through Cyprus in medieval times ; specifically : a rich satin
2.
a. also cypress lawn : a silk or cotton gauze originally made in Cyprus, usually dyed black, and used especially for mourning
b. : a piece of this fabric ; especially : a kerchief worn as a badge of mourning